Gardens in the Aleutian Islands: Landscape Management by Unangan/Unangas Ancestors

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Prehistoric large village midden sites in the Aleutian Islands provide soil chemistry and drainage environments optimal for the growth of plants that feature prominently in Unangan/Unangas traditional subsistence. Previous interpretations view this as fortuitous and non-deliberate. We argue that evidence suggests instead that plants useful in subsistence and as raw materials are present in elevated proportions on and in the vicinity of prehistoric village middens because Unangan/Unangas ancestors deliberately managed them. The village locations are in effect long-term gardens and managed landscapes. We explore the hypothesis that the gardens were managed specifically by women.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23117